Do you know what stupid-simple ingredient smart Instagrammers are using to cook up their engagement these days?

It’s the :-) <3.

Yes, emojis. From a blooming flower to a dog taking a nap, you’ll notice that top Instagram profiles leverage emojis to liven up their feed and communications.

The benefits of using emojis are undeniable. They tie in the emotion that people articulate offline. A survey from last year revealed that 92% of internet users applied emoji in some manner. Twitter even released an emoji for Pakistan’s Independence Day this year. Given their rising popularity, it’s a good time for Instagrammers to get in on action.

Using Emojis on Instagram

There are several ways to use emojis on Instagram, but the effective ones are few. Below I’ve explained where and how to use emojis for the best results.

1. Use Emojis in Captions

Did you know that 50% of all comments and captions on Instagram include an emoji or two? That’s one reason to jump on the bandwagon. Another is the fact that the use of emojis inside a caption allows you to entertain your viewers and show off your personality.

Mangobaaz does a great job at mixing emojis with text in some of their captions.

Without turning their caption into an emoji singing fest, they did just enough to add visual appeal.

But there’s room for improvement. For instance, they can use a sun emoji, then an emoji of a person sweating, followed by an ice cream/milkshake, the existing emojis, and a happy face in the end.

2. Use Emojis in Your Bio

It’s my personal opinion that one can’t create a killer Instagram bio without the use of emojis. Make a great first impression by using cute, serious, professional, quirky, or any kind of emojis in your bio rather than entirely filling it up with time-consuming things known as words.

It’s surprising that Pakistani brands aren’t utilizing emojis in their Instagram bios; I say this because I browsed bios of more than 50 brands from different industries on Instagram, and found just one or two that had one or two emojis in their bios.

Therefore, I’ve used my personal Instagram bio as an example for better explanation.

The emojis I used are acting as bullet points to my profile and all of them are unique. I’ve also used the downward finger emoji twice to direct people towards my email, rather than saying get in touch with me via email.

Note: There are different ways to use emojis in an Instagram bio. You can have words scattered with emojis (use emojis as bullet points and as a direction for a call-to-action), words with one emoji, a few emojis at the end, or just emojis with no words (yes, they’re strong enough to stand on their own.

3. Use Emojis in Comments

Want your comment to be memorable or simply funny? Consider using emojis when commenting on Instagram posts. It’s a great way to build relationships; don’t be surprised if you get shout outs from other Instagrammers.

Here’s an example.

The guy who left the comment is showing affection towards the profile owner's photography through the use of emojis. Not sure what the cigarettes mean though. :D

You can also use emojis while tagging others in comments. Perhaps something witty and funny will allow you to build a good relationship with the tagged profile if it isn’t owned by someone you know. Imagine getting the attention of a great brand through the use of emojis – there's a possibility.

It’s a Wrap

Like I said before, emojis can help you cut through the noise. Use them smartly and people will start noticing the unique angle you take. If you’ve never used emojis before on Instagram, use these examples as an inspiration to get started.